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For Los Angeles designer Shaina Mote, who spent much of her childhood weaving baskets from pine needles, the art of creative reuse was something she mastered from a young age. So it only goes to figure that when Mote’s interests took a sartorial turn, she gravitated toward reclaimed materials, including deadstock fabric. Even her Fall/Winter 2010 collection takes cues from the past (specifically, the 1930s and 1940s), resulting in a showcase of casual yet immaculately fitted pieces that juxtapose workhorse flannels and corduroys with slinky silks and knits.

NEW VINTAGE

The self-taught seamstress, who lives in a house hand-built from glass bottles, finds inspiration and beauty in discarded objects. Because of the limited nature of the fabrics, each design is available only in editions of 100 or less. (Every article is numbered.)

Because of the limited nature of the fabrics, each design is available only in editions of 100 or less.

Made locally in California, Mote’s namesake label offers the charm—and authenticity—of a dusty, sepia-tinted photograph. The girlish River dress has long ties that can be tied into a waist-nipping bow, while the gathered-waisted Sorrel skirt balloons ever so slightly to produce a comely silhouette. Even the menswear-inspired Hunter anorak is fitted for womanly curves—just sweet enough enough being saccharine.